You do not need a hypervisor to run Kubernetes: clusters can use virtual-machine nodes or bare-metal nodes. Virtualization remains useful when workloads need their own guest operating system, when teams want VM-level separation, or when they need to consolidate workloads on physical servers. Kubernetes manages containerized workloads; it does not manage hardware virtualization by default. If you want Kubernetes to manage traditional VMs, KubeVirt is an optional addition to an existing cluster.
What Kubernetes manages—and what virtualization manages
Kubernetes schedules and operates containerized workloads. Its functions include deployment, scaling, self-healing, service discovery, and storage orchestration. The Kubernetes project describes its scope this way: “Since Kubernetes operates at the container level rather than at the hardware level, it provides some generally applicable features common to PaaS offerings, such as deployment, scaling, load balancing, and lets users integrate their logging, monitoring, and alerting solutions.” (Kubernetes Overview, last modified May 30, 2026.)
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Virtualization works at a different layer. A hypervisor presents virtual hardware so multiple virtual machines can run on a physical server. Each VM runs its own operating system. Containers package an application and its runtime dependencies while sharing the host operating system; Kubernetes characterizes their isolation as more relaxed than that of VMs, not as absent. (Kubernetes Containers, last modified October 12, 2024.)
That distinction means Kubernetes and virtualization are complementary rather than interchangeable. Kubernetes does not turn a server into a VM host, and using Kubernetes does not require every cluster node to be a VM.
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Why keep virtual machines in a Kubernetes environment?
Run workloads that need a guest operating system
A workload that depends on a particular OS, system configuration, or legacy environment may fit better in a VM than in a container. The guest OS is part of the VM, whereas a container shares the host OS. This can be a practical reason to keep existing VMs while adopting Kubernetes for newer containerized applications.
Separate workloads at the VM boundary
VMs provide a distinct guest operating system and a different isolation boundary from containers. That can help separate workloads where the operating-system boundary matters to the design or trust model. It is not an automatic security guarantee: virtualization does not eliminate vulnerabilities or replace sound configuration and security controls.
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Consolidate infrastructure
Virtualization can let multiple VMs use one physical server, improving the use of available physical resources and separating applications into different VMs. Whether that is more efficient or less costly for a particular Kubernetes workload depends on its resource needs and operating model; the Kubernetes setup guidance does not establish a universal performance or cost winner.
Does Kubernetes require virtual machines?
No. Kubernetes clusters can run on virtualized nodes or directly on bare-metal servers. The choice is an infrastructure decision, not a Kubernetes prerequisite. Kubernetes documentation also describes deployments on local machines, in cloud environments, and in datacenters. Its setup guidance recommends weighing maintenance, security, control, available resources, and expertise, including which production responsibilities an operator wants to manage or hand to a provider. (Kubernetes Getting started, last modified January 14, 2026.)
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- You already operate a virtualized environment and want to use it for Kubernetes nodes.
- You value VM-level separation or the flexibility to provision and manage nodes as VMs.
- Your team has the skills and operational processes to maintain the virtualization layer as well as Kubernetes.
Consider bare-metal nodes when
- You want Kubernetes nodes to run directly on physical servers rather than inside VMs.
- Your team can own the server provisioning, maintenance, and recovery responsibilities involved.
- Your infrastructure and workload requirements support that design; the available Kubernetes guidance does not claim bare metal is universally faster or cheaper.
Consider managed Kubernetes when
- You want a provider to take responsibility for some production operations.
- You need to compare the provider’s security, control, maintenance, and resource model with what your team can operate itself.
- You have identified which responsibilities remain yours and which are handed off.
How to choose the right infrastructure boundary
There is no universal answer between VMs, bare metal, and managed Kubernetes. Compare the options against the actual workload and the responsibilities your organization can support:
- Isolation and trust: Decide what separation workloads require and whether a shared host OS is appropriate.
- Guest OS needs: Identify applications that need a separate OS or compatibility with a legacy environment.
- Operational ownership: Account for the expertise and maintenance needed for servers, hypervisors, Kubernetes, and any provider-managed services.
- Resource use and cost: Evaluate the actual workload rather than assuming that VMs or bare metal always use fewer resources or cost less.
- Portability and recovery: Check how workloads are moved, restored, and made available after infrastructure failure.
- Storage and networking: Confirm that the chosen layers work with the workload’s storage, network, and operational requirements.
The Kubernetes setup documentation names maintenance, security, control, resources, and expertise as selection considerations. It does not provide comparative benchmarks or total-cost figures for these deployment choices, so treat those as questions to assess in your own environment rather than settled rankings.
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Managing VMs from Kubernetes: KubeVirt and Kata Containers
KubeVirt manages traditional VMs through Kubernetes
KubeVirt extends Kubernetes with virtualization resource types, custom resources, controllers, and agents so that traditional VMs can be managed through Kubernetes APIs. It is an add-on, not a prerequisite: the Kubernetes add-ons documentation lists KubeVirt as an option for running VMs, commonly on bare-metal clusters, and the KubeVirt installation guide assumes that a Kubernetes cluster is already installed. (Kubernetes Installing Addons, last modified April 14, 2026; KubeVirt Installation guide; KubeVirt project documentation.)
Choose this model when the goal is to manage VM workloads alongside Kubernetes resources using Kubernetes interfaces. It adds a virtualization layer and its operational requirements; it does not mean Kubernetes itself has become a hypervisor.
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Kata Containers runs container workloads in VMs
Kata Containers and KubeVirt address different needs. A 2024 Kubernetes community blog by Andrei Kvapil of Ænix describes Kata as implementing the container runtime interface so standard container workloads run in VMs for additional isolation. KubeVirt, by contrast, runs traditional VMs through the Kubernetes API. This is an implementation overview from a project contributor, not a complete security assessment or a guarantee from Kubernetes. (DIY: Create Your Own Cloud with Kubernetes (Part 2), April 5, 2024.)
A practical way to think about the stack
Use virtualization when you need VM-level infrastructure or a guest OS; use Kubernetes to coordinate containerized applications. A cluster may run on VMs, on bare metal, or through a managed service. Add KubeVirt only when managing traditional VMs through Kubernetes is itself a requirement, and consider Kata when the objective is to run container workloads inside VMs for an additional isolation boundary.
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